Light the fire in this castle Watch it burn into a glow By the river fear of quite sincere There’s a draw bridge life support. There’s a plank we’ll have to crawl upon But dare not look below Where the water scene is crystal clean Where the clouds are raining snow

Hush hush baby there’s a lot of other ways to choke We’re in the freak show now and we’re dealing with a mind of its own when too many worlds collide I’d like to think it would be good if we talked I ask you to not leave my side I can’t, man, This is quicksand alone

So I ask you thru the voice of a friend Why don’t you stay with me

We’re a submarine submerging Simply smiling at the earth We’re sending roses to the loved ones Who had a hand in our rebirth But still another day I’ll cling to you For faint directions home Where we all will sit with open arms To block the rocks we’ve thrown

Hush hush baby There’s a lot of other ways to choke We’re in the freak show now And we’re dealing with a mind of its own When too many worlds collide I’d like to think it would be good if we talk I ask you to not leave my side I can’t, man, This is quicksand alone

So I ask you thru the voice of a friend “Why don’t you stay with me?” I ask you thru the voice of a friend “Why don’t you stay with me? Stay with me.”

“When it’s black Take a little time to hold yourself Take a little time to feel around before it’s gone You won’t let go but you still keep on falling down Remember how you save me now from all of my wrongs Yeah

If there’s love just feel it And if there’s life we’ll see it This is no time to be alone, alone yeah I won’t let you go

Say those words Say those words like there’s nothing else Close your eyes and you might believe That there is some way out Yeah

Open up Open up your heart to me now Let it all come pouring out There’s nothing I can’t take

And if there’s love just feel it And if there’s life we’ll see it This is no time to be alone, alone yeah I won’t let you go (Won’t let you go) (Won’t let you go)

If your sky is falling Just take my hand and hold it You don’t have to be alone, alone yeah I won’t let you go (Won’t let you go) (Won’t let you go)

And if you feel the fading of the light And you’re too weak to carry on the fight And all your friends that you count on have disappeared I’ll be here not gone, forever holding on

If there’s love just feel it And if there’s life we’ll see it This is no time to be alone, alone yeah I won’t let you go (Won’t let you go) (Won’t let you go)

If your sky is falling Just take my hand and hold it You don’t have to be alone, alone yeah I won’t let you go (Won’t let you go) (Won’t let you go)

I won’t let you go I won’t let I won’t let you go No, I won’t let I won’t let you go I won’t let you go”

This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do
I don’t know where to turn
If I can’t turn to you, no
Cause I made enough mistakes
To last us both a lifetime
And it’ll take that long to realise
That you’re not mine

Cause it seems like now
I’ve got a lot to be okay with
We never got to say we made it
My favourite colour’s gone and faded
Makes me wonder, did we waste it

But you don’t owe me anything
Don’t hear me out, I’ll just sing
If you don’t wanna know
I understand, but just know
Oh, that you don’t owe me anything
Don’t listen to me, the words just sting
If you want me to go
I understand, but just know, oh

This is what it feels like to lie in your mess
To know you ripped the heart
Of someone you loved out of their chest
Oh, no
And I guess that this is how it feels
When you got nothing left
To know you could have done something
But you gave up instead
Oh, no

Well it seems like now
I’ve got a lot to be okay with
We never got to say we made it
My favourite colour’s gone and faded
Makes me wonder, did we waste it

But you don’t owe me anything
Don’t hear me out, I’ll just sing
If you don’t wanna know
I understand, but just know
No, that you don’t owe me anything
Don’t listen to me, the words just sting
If you want me to go
I understand, but just know

You don’t owe me anything
Don’t hear me out, I’ll just sing
If you don’t wanna know
I understand, but just know
That you don’t owe me anything
Don’t hear me out, I’ll just sing
If you don’t wanna know
I understand, but just know
No, that you don’t owe me anything
Don’t listen to me, the words just sting
If you want me to go
I understand, but just know

Books where the words have lingered and lived through different time periods, will have something extra deep about them. If the context, words, stories, characters can survive through significant changes in periods and people still read them then it is a classic worth reading.

Anne Lamott: On why we read and write:

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”